An  American  Man  of  Letters 


COLLIER  COBB 


Reprinted  fiotn 
The  University  of  North  Carolina  Magazine 

October,  1909 
The  North  Carolina  Review,  October  3,   1909 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  201i  witii  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/americanmanoflet121cobb 


\ 


The  University  Magazine 

OCTOBER,  1909 
Old  Series,  Vol.  40  No.  J  New  Series,  Vol.  27 


AN  AMERICAN  MAN  OF  LETTERS 


Collier  Cobb 


A  slave  who  owned  his  master;  a  poet  ignorant  of  the  rules 
of  prosody;  a  man  of  letters  l)efore  he  had  learned  to  read;  a 
writer  of  short  stories  who  published  in  several  papers  simul- 
taneously before  the  day  of  newspaper  syndicates ;  an  author 
who  supported  himself  and  his  family  in  an  intellectual  cen- 
ter liefore  authorship  had  attained  to  the  dignity  of  a  pro- 
fession in  America:  such  was  Geoi'ge  Horton,  a  negro,  Ixjrn 
in  North  Carolina,  in  1798. 

Like  all  the  members  of  his  race,  he  was  fond  of  melody 
and  devoted  to  church  going;  and  to  this  religious  impulse  he 
owed  the  cultivation  of  a  poetic  temperament,  and  the  oppor- 
tunity to  study  tlie  structure  of  the  short  story. 

My  attention  was  drawn  to  his  Avork  several  years  ago  by 
some  verses  of  his  written  for  a  lady's  album  in  1840,  to  the 
authorship  of  Avhich  he  had  relinquished  all  claim  for  twenty- 
five  cents.  The  quality  of  the  verse  and  the  story  of  its 
author  led  me  to  look  into  tlie  man's  history  and  to 
search  for  his  work  in  the  tiles  of  the  newspapers  of  his  day. 

George  was  the  property  of  Mr.  James  Horton,  of  Chat- 
ham County.  He  was  a  full-blooded  black  man,  something 
like  the  type  known  today  as  negroid,  yet  more  Aryan  than 
Semitic  in  features,  and  more  like  the  natives  of  India  and 
Northern  Africa,  than  the  negro  south  of  the  Sahara.  He 
himself,    Othello  like,    boasted  of  the  purity  of  his   black 


4  The  University  Magazine 

blood.  Such  is  the  description  I  get  of  his  personal  appear- 
ance from  old  residents  of  Chapel  Hill,  who  knew  him  in  his 
prime. 

George  lived  on  the  plantation  of  his  master,  where  he 
made  a  pretense  of  working  on  the  farm,  until  he  was  about 
thirty-three  years  old.  His  time  in  winter  was  spent  large- 
ly in  fishing  and  hunting,  and  in  some  slight  personal  ser- 
vice for  his  master.  His  summers  were  devoted  mainly  to 
protracted  meetings.  He  became  familiar  with  the  Bible 
from  hearing  it  read,  and  Avith  the  melodies  of  the  Metho- 
dist hymnal,  which  were  constantly  ringing  in  his  ears. 

From  these  sources  he  gained  his  sole  knowledge  of  stories 
and  of  verse.  On  hearing  some  verses  read  from  an  odd 
number  of  the  North  Carolina  University  Magazine,  he  asked 
his  master's  permission  to  visit  Chapel  Hill  and  get  acquain- 
ted with  the  young  jnasters  who  did  such  work. 

When  he  reached  the  university  town,  his  gift  of  versifica- 
tion secured  for  him  ready  employment.  He  composed 
acrostics  on  ladies'  names,  and  love  songs  and  other  amorous 
verses  for  ladies'  albums.  He  was  also  actively  employed  in 
the  production  of  love  letters.  George  found  his  new  ven- 
ture so  profitable  that  he  offered  his  owner  fifty  cents  a  day 
for  his  time,  which  was  worth  nothing  on  the  farm.  Soon 
his  verses  appeared  in  the  University  Magazine,  some  of  the 
young  masters  claiming  the  authorship.  All  his  lines  were 
written  down  by  others  from  his  dictation,  for  he  had  never 
learned  to  write.  Hie  had  learned  to  read,  however,  by  the 
use  of  his  Wesleyan  hymn  book,  and  learned  his  words 
before  he  learned  his  letters,  thus  anticipating  a  method  of 
the  new  education.  The  laws  of  the  State  forbade  the  teach- 
ing of  slaves,  but  George  learned  to  read  without  a  teacher, 
and  his  master  knew  nothing  of  his  accomplishments  until 
he  was  shown  some  of  his  verses. 

One  of  George's  earlier  efforts  at  Chapel  Hill,  inspired  by 
the  half-dollar  of  an  aspiring  Sopliomore,  who  nightly  wan- 
dered in  the  neighborhood  of  Piney  Prospect,  ran  thus: 


An  American  Man  of  Letters  5 

At  length  the  silver  queen  begins  to  rise, 
And  spread  her  glowing  mantle  in  the  skies, 
And  from  the  smiling  chambers  of  the  east. 
Invites  the  eye  to  her  resplendent  feast. 

The  poet  begged  a  blue-backed  sioelling  book,  and  from 
this  learned  his  letters,  with  what  assistance  no  one  ever 
knew.  Later  he  learned  to  spell  by  matching  the  words  in 
his  hymnal,  which  he  already  knew  by  heart  and  by  sight, 
with  the  words  in  the  spelling  book.  In  this  way,  he  learned 
to  read  his  Bible.  Thus,  entirely  unaided  by  instruction,  he 
learned  to  read  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  grammar  and 
prosody,  acquiring  a  simple  straightforward  style,  and  writ- 
ing good  idiomatic  English. 

Dr.  Joseph  Caldwell,  president  of  the  University,  was 
interested  in  the  gifted  negro  and  lent  him  books,  and 
George  was  not  slow  to  add  to  his  small  store  of  the  best  in 
English  literature.  About  this  time,  in  1829,  Gales  and 
Son  printed  at  Raleigh  several  of  his  poems  in  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  "The  Hope  of  Liberty",  a  collection  made  up  entire- 
ly from  his  earlier  efforts.  From  this  pamphlet  the  follow- 
ing is  taken: 

THE  SLAVE'S  COMPLAINT 

'  'Am  I  sadly  cast  aside, 
On  misfortune's  rugged  tide? 
Will  the  world  my  pains  deride 
Forever? 

"Must  I  dwell  in  Slavery's  night, 
And  all  pleasure  take  its  flight. 
Far  beyond  my  feeble  sight, 
Forever? 

"Worst  of  all,  must  hope  grow  dim, 
And  withhold  her  cheering  beam? 
Rather  let  me  sleep  and  dream 
Forever ! 

"Something  still  my  heart  surveys. 
Groping  through  this  dreary  maze ; 
Is  it  Hope?J—  then  bum  and  blaze 
Forever ! 


6  The  University  Magazine 

"Leave  me  not  a  wretch  confined, 
Altogetlier  lame  and  blind, 
Unto  gross  despair  consigned. 
Forever! 

"Heaven!  in  whom  can  I  confide? 
Canst  thou  not  for  all  provide? 
Condescend  to  be  my  guide 
Forever ! 

"And  when  transient  life  shall  end, 
Oh  may  some  kind  eternal  friend 
Bid  me  from  servitude  ascend, 
Forever ! ' ' 

George  never  really  cared  t'i)r  more  libertj^  than  he  liad, 
but  he  was  fond  of  playing  to  the  grand-stand.  It  was  a 
common  .saying  in  Chapel  Hill  that  Poet  Horton  owned  Mr. 
Horton  and  all  but  owned  the  president  of  the  University. 

The  next  example  of  his  woik  is  one  of  his  earlier  efforts 
in  that  style  of  verse  making  which  won  for  him  a  liveli- 
hood and  reputation  at  Chapel  Hill.     It  is  entitled: 

LOVE 

"Whilst  tracing  thy  visage,  I  sink  in  emotion, 
For  no  other  damsel  so  wond'  rous  I  see ; 
Thy  looks  are  so  pleasing,  thy  charms  so  amazing, 
I  think  of  no  other,  my  true  love,  but  thee. 

"With  heart-burning  rapture  I  gaze  on  thy  beauty. 
And  fly  like  a  bird  to  the  boughs  of  a  tree; 
Thy  looks  are  so  pleasing,  thy  charms  so  amazing, 
I  fancy  no  other,  my  true  love,  but  thee. 

"Thus  oft  in  the  valley  I  think  and  I  wonder 

Why  cannot  a  maid  with  her  lover  agree? 
Thy  looks  are  so  pleasing,  thy  charms  so  amazing, 
I  pine  for  no  other,  my  true  love,  but  thee. 

"I'd  fly  from  thy  frowns  with  a  heart  full  of  sorrow  — 

Return,  pretty  damsel,  and  smile  thou  on  me; 
By  ev'ry  endeavor,  I'll  try  thee  forever; 

And  languish  until  I  am  fancied  by  thee. ' ' 

This,  too,  was  written  down  from  his  dictation  before  its 
author  had  learned  to  write. 


An  American  Man  of  Letters  7 

The  following  stanza  is  from  one  of  his  poems  of  the  same 
period : 

"Come  melting  Pity,  from  afar, 
And  break  this  vast  euormons  bar, 

Between  a  wretch  and  thee ; 
Purchase  a  few  short  days  of  time, 
And  bid  a  vassal  soar  sublime, 
On  wings  of  Liberty." 

His  work  at  Chapel  Hill  and  his  appeals  to  the  sympathy 
of  the  students  secured  for  him  a  small  sum  of  money,  with 
which  he  hoped  to  buy  his  freedom  and  a  passage  to  Tiiberia ; 
but  after  the  death  of  his  patron,  Dr.  Caldwell,  he  gave  him- 
self up  to  drink,  and  his  little  savings,  with  all  tliat  he  could 
earn  or  beg,  went  for  liquor.  A  favorite  scheme  of  his  for 
raising  money  was  to  write  some  verses  setting  forth  the  sick- 
ness and  distress  of  his  familj^  and  closing  with  an  appeal  t(j 
the  students  to  "lend  a  helping  hand  to  the  old  unfortunate 
bard".  This  he  would  take  from  room  to  room  and  read, 
and  his  old  employers  in  versification  nearly  always  respond- 
ed liberally.  Dr.  Battle  tells  us  in  his  history  of  the  Univer- 
sity that  "his  manner  was  courteous,  his  moral  character 
good.  Like  Byron,  Burns,  and  Poe,  he  often  quenched  the 
divine  spark  with  unpoetic  wliiskey." 

I  have  on  my  table  as  I  write  a  small  volume  of  his  poems 
published  in  1838.  Earlj'-  in  the  fifties  a  small  duodecimo 
volume  of  his  verses  was  published  in  Boston  along  with  his 
autobiography.  Several  short  stories  and  numerous  essays  of 
his  were  also  published  about  this  time. 

He  addressed  the  following  verses  to  Horace  G  reel 3',  and 
they  appeared  in  the  New  York  Tribune. 
THE  POET'S  PETITION 

"Bewailing  'mid  the  ruthless  wave 
I  lift  my  feeble  hand  to  thee, 
Let  me  no  longer  be  a  slave, 

But  drop  the  fetters  and  be  free. 

*  'Why  will  regardless  Fortune  sleep 
Deaf  to  my  penitential  prayer. 


8  The  University  Magazine 

Or  leave  the  struggling  bard  to  weep, 
Alas!  and  languish  in  despair? 

"He  is  an  eagle  void  of  wings 

Aspiring  to  the  mountain  height, 
Yet  in  the  vale  aloud  he  sings 
For  Pity's  aid  to  give  him  flight. 

"Then  listen  all  who  never  felt 
For  fettered  genius  heretofore, 
Let  hearts  of  petrification  melt, 
And  bid  the  gifted  negro  soar." 

Horton's  versification  had  often  been  employed  in  singing 
the  praises  of  the  ladies,  and  he  had  written  many  an  acros- 
tic and  sung  many  a  song  in  praise  of  Sally  Maxwell,  a 
charming  young  widow  of  Warrenton .  For  this  work  he  re- 
ceived his  highest  prices,  paid  by  the  lovesick  swains  of 
Chapel  Hill  who  spent  their  senior  vacation  in  that  delight- 
ful village.  Miss  Cheney  of  Connecticut,  who  afterwards  be- 
came Mrs.  Horace  Greely,  was  teaching  school  at  Warrenton, 
and,  while  making  a  short  stay  in  New  York  on  her  way  to 
North  Carolina,  met  Greel}^  and  still  further  enlisted  his  in- 
terest in  the  negro  poet. 

When  George's  student  employer  was  willing  to  pay  as 
much  as  fifty  cents,  the  poem  was  generously  gushing.  Hor- 
ton  continued  to  live  near  Chapel  Hill  until  the  coming  of 
the  United  States  cavalry  in  1865,  when  he  accompanied  an 
army  officer  to  Philadelphia,  and  lived  there  until  his  death 
at  an  advanced  age. 

He  was  fond  of  writing  poems  in  pairs,  matching  one  against 
the  other.     The  result  of  his  first  effort  in  this  direction  was 
given  to  a  young  instructor  in  the  University   in   recognition 
of  some  favor  that  ths  poet  had  received  at  his  hands : 
THE  PLEASURE  OF  A  BACHELOR'S  LIFE 

O  tell. me  not  of  Wedlock's  charms, 
Nor  busy  Hymen's  galling  chain, 

But  rather  let  me  fold  my  arms 

From  pleasures  which  wiW  end  in  pain. 


An  American  Man  or  Letters  § 

'Tie  true  the  primogenial  flower 

Arose  to  please  in  Eden's  grove, 
But  did  she  not  as  soon  devour 

The  silly  bee  that  sought  her  love? 
Then  with  content  remain  alone, 

But  still  on  wings  of  pleasure  soar, 
The  storms  of  life  will  soon  be  gone, 

Perhaps,  and  to  return  no  more. 

Without  a  surly  wife  to  scold, 
Or  children  lo  disturb  your  mind, 

To  pillage  o'er  your  chest  for  gold. 
And  spend  for  trifles  what  they  find. 

PAIN  OF  A  BACHELOR'S  LIFE 

When  Adam  dwelt  in  Eden's  shade, 

His  state  was  joyless  there ; 
He  then  the  general  scene  surveyed. 
No  true  delight  the  world  dsiplayed 

To  him  witliout  the  fair. 

His  mind  was  like  the  ocean's  wave 

When  rolling  to  and  fro ; 
He  seemed  a  creature  doomed  to  crave, 
Too  melancholy  to  be  brave, 

AVheii  ui)  trra  pleasure.-:  flow. 

At  length  a  sniiling  woman  rose, 

A  bone  from  hi^  own  side, 
The  scene  of  pleasure  to  disclose 
An<l  lull  him  into  soft  repose, 

The  raptni-es  of  a  bride 

Young  bachelor  whoe'er  thou  art 

Thy  pleasures  are  but  rare; 
A  t]iorn  will  ever  pierce  thy  heart 
Until  fond  nature  takes  its  part 

Of  comfort  with  the  fair. 

His  later  work  showed  remotely  and  in  some  small  meas- 
ure the  influence  of  tliat  group  of  Elizabethan  poets  who  were 
wont  to  meet  in  tlie  clvil»-room  of  the  Mermaid  Tavern,  and, 
after  he  went  to  Philadelphia,  he  wrute  a  number  of  poems 
in  imitation  of  Marlowe's  "Passionate  Shepherd  to  his  Love" 
and  "The  Nymph's  Reply"  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh. 


10  The  University  Magazine 

It  was  in  Philadelphia  that  he  developed  his  gift  of  story 
telling,  his  stories  being  modelled  on  the  old  stories  of  the 
East,  as  he  had  learned  them  from  his  Bible  and  in  many  cases 
being  bodily  taken  from  the  Scriptures  and  made  modern  as 
to  names  and  places.  In  this  he  was  even  more  success- 
ful than  was  Benjamin  Franklin  in  his  famous  paraphrase  of 
the  Book  of  Job.  The  source  (^f  Horton's  inspiration  was 
alvnys  liid  from  any  but  tlic  closest  students  of  Holy  Writ, 
and  even  they  did  not  often  recognize  tlieir  old  friends  in 
modern  dress. 

In  yet  another  respect  this  poet  would  be  a  paradox  in  our 
day.  He  did  very  little  work  before  reaching  the  age  of 
forty,  and  the  most  productive  period  of  liis  life  began  when 
he  was  sixty-seven  years  old,  continuing  lill  liis  death  at  the 
age  of  eightv-five,  in  1883. 

All  the  examples  of  his  verse  that  I  have  given  are  selected 
from  his  earlier  productions,  written  when  he  was  still  an 
unlettered  slave. 


